India

Photo Credit:
Population Council

Overview

The Population Council has worked in partnership with health and social science institutions in India since the 1960s and established its Delhi office in 1994. The Council is a trusted partner of the Government of India and has pioneered research on young people’s health and development; sexual and reproductive health; and HIV prevention, care, and treatment.

In 2006–2008, the Council conducted the first large-scale study of young people’s sexual and reproductive health needs. Council research has provided evidence on the pervasiveness of physical and sexual violence within marriage and the adverse health and social consequences for women of marital violence, which is being used to develop interventions to prevent violence against women and girls. Research on risk behavior and HIV transmission rates among those who migrate for work contributed to a national strategy for HIV prevention for migrants. And we are analyzing and synthesizing data from Avahan, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation–funded HIV prevention initiative, which will guide future HIV prevention programs for at-risk populations in India and other countries.